Internal-combustion-engine pump



C. C. THOMAS.

INIERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE PUMP. APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1915.

RENEWED APR. 30, 1920.

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C.C.THOMAS. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE PUMP. APPLICATION FILED APR. 2,I915. RENEWED APR- 30, I920. 1,343,693. PatentedJune 15 1920.

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WI T IVESSES:

C. C. THOMAS. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE PUMP. APPLICATION FILED APR. 2,1915.

RENEWED APR. 30, 1920.

Patented June 15, 1920.

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UNITED. STATES CARL C. THOMAS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION-ENGINE PUMP.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jun 15 1'920 Application filedApril 2, 1915, Serial No. 18,817. I Renewed April 30, 1920. Serial No.378,018.

To all whom it may concern 1 Be it known that I, CARL C. THOMAS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State ofMaryland, have invented certain new and useful Im rovemcnts in InternalCombustion Engine Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an internal combustion engine pump and toprocesses of converting heat energy into work and of pumping liquids,fluids, &c.

It is a primary object of the present invention to utilize the highlycompressed gases of an internal combustion engine immediatelyafterignition, or early in the working stroke of said engine, forpumping, Water or other liquids or fluids, by discharging part of suchgases into or against a column of liquid or fluid in a pump conduitwhile cutting oil such discharge before the end of the working strokeand permittinp the remaining gases to do work in said engine foroperating the same. It is another presse( gases in an air-lift orgas-lift pump, whereby the liquid or fluid will be elevated and heatedby such gases. It is a further object of the invention to utilize theheat energy of the internal combustion engine for pumping and heatingliquids, whereby a high efliciency in the operation of said enpine isobtained. Further objects of the invention will more clearly appear fromthe following detail description The internal comlmstion engine used inthe pump of the present invention may. be of any suitable or preferredconstruction such as a two or torn-cycle engine provided with the usualinlet and outlet connections and valves. Such engines may operate uponany suitable combustible charl e such as mixture of compres--r l air andcombustible tluid, among ivhiih lluids alcohol, grasoleno, hero-- eerieand doc. may be mentioned. t'luch cu in provide with a supplemental orauxiliary outlet together with suitable 'alve means for dischargingtherethrouuh oi the working}; ition or early in n oi said engine. Thealso vary considerably he invention in the present ap" obiect of theinvention to utilize such complication the pump conduit is arranged tobe operated upon the air-lift or gas-lift principle, the discharge. fromsaid engine being introduced into the pump conduit near the lower levelof the water column therein or at a suitable place below the water leveltherein for elevating 0r pumping such water or other liquid or 'fiuid.

I will now proceed to describe my invent1on more in detail, and withparticular reference to the accompanying drawings illustrative ofcertain embodiments thereof, but it is intended and understood'that theinvention is illustrated by but is not limited to the specificembodiments thereof so illustrated and described except as defined inthe appended claims. l will describe my invention as applied to thepumping of water but it will be understood that the 'invention is alsoapplicable for the pumping of other liquids or fluids or in some caseseven solids suitably carried by or suspended 'in liquids or fluids.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an internal combustion engine pumpembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section showing the specific constructionof the cylinder and pump connections of Fig. 1.

Fi 3 is an indicator diagram illustrative of the operation of theinternal combustion engine pump of the present inve ltion.

Fig". 4 is a central vertical section of a modified constructionsomewhat similar to that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a partial end elevation, with parts broken away, of thestructure oi Fig. l.

Fig. i3 is a view taken on the line 6-l3 ot l 'ip'.

Fig. ,7 illustrates somewhat diagrammatically a modified .lOlHl of theinvention.

l is a detail view showing a modification of the structure of ldipr. 7,

Fig". 9 illustrates a further modification invention.

".10 illustrates still a further modifiof the injector nozzle.

ll shows a l urther modified form invention, and

12 illustrates diiuriammaticall v a ll further modiiication.

Referring: first to the mbodii ents o i invention illustrated in l andthe cylinder 1 of a suitable internal combustion engine has a piston 2of suitable construction connected to a fly wheel 3, the engine as awhole being mounted upon a suitable base 4. The cylinder and engineconstruction can bevaried within rather wide limits as can also-thesupport and arrangement of the engine with respect to the water or otherliquid or fluid to be pumped. The engine is not primarily intended fordoing external work other than in pumping the liquid and in performingits own engine functions, but the engine can be used for doing such Workwhen desired and in some cases it may be used only for doing such work.Where no external work is desired the fly Wheel and connecting rod canbe made of lighter construction since the primary function of the engineis to act as an ignition cylinder, or a compression and ignitioncylinder, for the explosive charge utilized in the pumping operationwhile only enough power need be utilized in the engine cylinder to makeit perform its engine functions. The engine illustrated has its inletand outlet connections and valves arranged at the side so that the headof the cylinder is left free. In place of the usual cylinder head, ahead 5 is shown applied to the cylinder 1, said head being provided withan integral extension 6 and with an opening leading from the cylinder tosaid extension, said extension terminating in a head 7 suitably attachedthereto. I

Arranged in the connection from said cylinder to the extension is thevalve seat 8 against which a suitable spring-pressed valve 9 seats, saidvalve being carried or supported by a stem 10 and being springpressedagainst its seat by a spring 11, the tension of which can be varied bymeans 0t sleeve 13 acting upon a plate 15 at the end ofthe spring.The'sleeve 13 acts in a screwthreaded bushing 13 and can be locked inadjusted position by the nut 14%. Surrounding the valve stem and thespring is a protecting flange or cylinder 12 which protects the parts ofthe valve from injury. The

' valve illustrated and described may be taken as a type of suitablespring-pressed valve of suitable construction, and it will be understoodthat the construction of this valve can be varied and valves oidifferent construction and similar-operation substituted. The tension ofthe spring which holds the valve to its seat canbe adjusted. inaccordance with tension. Elinee maximum pressure ivithin cylinderimmediately after ignition or early the working strolre ot the engineerated instead of being nsaaees it will be clear thatthe spring-pressedvalve will open at suchtime and will remain open until part of theworkinggases have escaped and the pressurehas been reduced to permit.

the valve to close. When the valve closes the remaining gases willcontinue to do work in the cylinder and cause it to perform 113$ enginefunctions. Thus in a iour-cycle enextension 6 is upwardly into a Watercasing 16,- provided with a lateral inlet 17 leading from a water supplypipe 18, suitable check valves 19 and 20 being provided in the conduits16 and l8'to prevent reverse fiow of the water. In Fig. 1 the gases aredischarged upwardly through a suitable injector nozzle 21 so that thesegases act to lighten and raise the water on the principle of theair-lift pump, while the gases also act because of their high pressureand velocity, as in an injector. In Fig. l the flow of Water isindicated by the arrows and the discharged gases are also illustrated,but it will be understood that such illustration merely diagrammatic andthat the relative amount of gas discharged can be. varied within ratherwide limits. With pump conduits into which the gasesare dischargedagainst a high head or": water the gases will remain in a highlycompressed state near the bottom otthe conduit but will expand as theyrise and as the pressure dec eases. "'l he admission of the compressedgas es should be below the normal water level of'the water to be pumpedso that this water'will flow in without suction, although the inventionis also applicable where suction means are provided for priming the pumpand supplying the water thereto. in Figs. 1 and 2 a bypass 22 is shownleading from the inlet 17 to-the casing 6 below the valve, this lay-passbeing provided with a cutoff valve 23 and check valve 2%, and the outlet2 5 of said bypass being arranged-to he acted upon by the escaping gasesso that later can be drawn in to cool the valve, en .5". water beingvaporized and the resulting steam cooling the valve and escaping withthe gases.

ln the embodiment the invention illus trated in lligs; 4ito similararrangement of engine and pump conduit is illustrated. but the valve 9of F l is positively op era as a pressed against the is operated by withrespect its end to a rocker sure relief valve spring seat. This valve 9of l a valve stem 10 arm 22" operated the 528 from a hell cran ated by acan upon th i (-1) Elected to of opening and closing of the valve 9 canthe air li be varied, operation of this sleeve being eflected by'the rod33 and handle 34. The inlet and exhaust valve connections and operatingrods are also shown in Figs. 4 to 6. the exhaust cam sleeve acting upona connecting rod'36 operating upon the exhaust valve 37 while an inletcam sleeve 38 acts upon a connecting rod 39 operatively connected to theinlet valve, the casing of which is indicated at 40. The cylinder issurrounded with a water jacket 41 of any suitable construction.

ln Fig. 7 the invention has been illustrated as applied to a pumpconduit arranged to pump water from below ground, such as in a well. Theengine is illustrated diagrammatically and may be similar to that ofFig. 1. The high pressure gases are discharged through the conduit 45past the check valve 46 and down through the central pipe 47 from thebottom of which they escape, control of the operation being effected bythe valve 48. The pipe 47 is shown as centrally arranged within the pumpconduit 50 arranged within the well casing 51. The operation of the pumpwill be clear from the diagrammatic illustration of Fig; 7. The waterand gases rising in the conduit 50 are shown as being discharged througha lateral discharge connection attached to the conduit 50 by means ofthe connection 49. In the modification of Fig. 8 the injector outlet Mfor the gases is arranged to discharge into the pipe 45 and to entrainair through the pipe 43, the casing 42 being the surrounding casing forthe air and gas injector. The highly compressed gas together with theair drawn in with it is forced past the check valve t6 and thence-intothe pump conduit.

In "Fig. 5) a further modification ot the in vention is illustratedgenerally similar to that of Fig. 1, but. with means arranged forcirculating cooling fluid from the pump conduit through the cylinderjacket. The inlet conduit 13 is shown as provided with a by-pass pipehaving therein a cut-nit valve ca and check valve 61., said b pzs pipeleading to the water acket oli'the linder from which the water withdrawnbypipe 62 by the injector action oi the escaping gase citing upon tioutlet of this pipe. A valve is shown in I '2 pump conduit to regulatetuc ilou' thcr in Fig. if? a supplcinentai air ini t 1 illustrateddischai into the ii iet 21, the can be drai by the same cam shaft thatcarries the cam 32 acting upon the valve 9. The arrangement is such thatwhen the valve 9 is open the inlet 17 will be cut ofi to permit upwarddischarge of the working gases in the pump conduit 16, whilethe valve 64will open the inlet 17 when the valve 9 is closed. The closing of thegas inlet by the valve 64: also prevents or minimizes the inflow ofwater into the casing 6. InFig. 12 the usual exhaust port of the engineis shown as having a conduit connected thereto for conducting theexhaust gases in heat interchanging relation with the pump conduit 18 inorder to impart heat to said conduit.

The operation of the pump and engine of the present invention will beclear from the above description and from the illustration. The engineif a four-cycle engine, will operate as a compressor and igniter for theexplosive charge, and a portion of this charge after ignition will bedischarged into the pump conduit, the amount of such dis charge beingregulated by the tension of the spring with the spring pressed valve ofFig. 1 or by the adjustment of the cam sleeve 30 and the correspondingvariation in the opening and closing of thevalve 9 in the constructionof Figs. 4: to 6. Then the discharge is cut oil the remaining gases willdo work within the cylinder and cause it to perform its normal enginefunctions, the fly wheel having the usual steadying effect thereon. Whenit is desired to use the engine for doing external work other thanpuniping, the discharge into the pump conduit can be correspondinglyreduced or even in some cases entirely cut off. When utilized primarilyas a pump the function of the engine will be that of a compre on andignition cylinder which will be self-operating and which will rru uire all'lild'lllll'li o'l supervi sionand regulation. Y it glue it will beunuerstood that the charge is usually introduced under pressure whilewith a tour-cycle engine the charge will be drawn in by suction andcompressed within the c nder before ignitioa'i. in some pun'ip conduitsthe discharge may t2 place through an injector inlet or nozrle (e. 7..as in is construction of l l. l) While in others the discharge may talte'JitMP directly.

against the main portion of the water by tipvs iii he (o ted d h atwocycle en- 13 column (c. 9., as in the j are till

spondingly heated. The circulation of part of the Water through thecylinder acket as illustrated in Fig. 9, results in a further heating ofthe water and an increase in the efficiency of the pump and engine as aheat engine. The heating action can be further increased by theutilization of the exhaust by bringing the same into heat interchangingrelation With the pump conduit in such manner as illustrateddiagrammatically in Fi 12.

The process of operating the engine and of pumping Water or other fluidWill be clear from the above description, this process being so carriedout that the desired discharge for pumping purposes is effected, Whilethe necessary Work is obtained Within the cylinder for effecting theoperation of the engine. It will be understood that this process can bevaried Within rather wide limits in accordance With the effect desiredin the pump or in the engine or in both. When used for pumping Water thepump may advantageously be placed below the level of the Water so thatthe Water will flow by gravity into the pump conduit. The engine mayhowever be arranged above the inlet level and this inlet effected bysuction or by other means; or again the gas can be discharged downwardlyinto the pump conduit as indicated diagrammatically in Fi 7. With thisarrangement of Fig. '7 there is a further heating of the water by thegases passing downthe central pipe before .such gases are discharged atthe bottom of the conduit. The pump of the present invention can be usedin pumping against either high or low heads. The height to which theWater can be pumped is materially increased when the air-liftconstruction is usee, owing to the lightening action of the gases risingwith the Water.

The indicator diagram of Fig. 3, is illustrative of the operation of thepumpof the present invention. The shaded portion indicates the Workingstroke of the engine. It

Will be understood that this diagramis given for purposes ofillustration, and that it Will vary with different types of engines anddifferent conditions of operation.

While l have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments ofthe invention, yet it Will be understood that the invention isillustrated by, but is not limited to, such embodiments, and thatvariations and modifications can be made therein with out departing fromthe spirit and scope of the inventiomas set forth in the accompanyingclaims.

T claim An internal combustion engine pump and ti Wheel pump conduit i 7for I naeaees discharging part of the Working gases from said engineinto said conduit early in the Working stroke of said engine, and meansfor cutting off said discharge before the completion of the Workingstroke.

2. An internal combustion engine pump comprising an internal combustionengine operatingupon a regular cycle and provided With the usual inletand exhaust valves and fly Wheel, a pump conduit, a duct connecting saidengine With said conduit, and valve means controlling flow through saidduct arranged to permit flow from said engine to said conduit early inthe Working stroke of said engine, and to cut off such flow before theend of the Working stroke.

3. An internal) combustion engine pump comprising a four-cycle internalcombustion engine having valve-controlled inlet and outlet, a pumpconduit, means for discharging part of the Working gases from saidengine into said conduit early in the Working stroke of said engine, andmeans for cutting off said discharge before the completion of theWorking stroke.

4. An internal combustion engine pump comprising a pump conduit, aninternal combustion engine operating upon a regular cycle and providedwith the usual inlet and exhaust valves and fly Wheel, and havingexhaust valves and fly Wheel, and having an outlet from the enginecylinder to said conduit, valve means controlling said outlet ar-"ranged to permit flow from said cylinder to said conduit early in theworking stroke of: said engine and to cut off such flow before the endof the Working stroke, and means tor varying the period during Whichsuch valve remains open:

t An internal combustion engine pump comprising an internal combustionengine operating upon a regular cycle and provided with the usual inletand exhaust valves and "Wheel, a gas lift pump conduit, 1

means for discharging part of the Working gases from said engineupwardly into said conduit early in. the working stroke of said ine, andmeans for cutting cit said dis-- rge before the completion of theWorking combustion ei "ne pump "'ei" combust in engine u war cycle and)rovided ves and nes t. pen a with the u ual i teas fly Wheel; agas-lift pump conduit of gen eral Ushape, means for admitting liquid toone side of said conduit, a duct connecting said engine with the otherside of said conduit and terminating in an injector nozzle in saidconduit, and valve means controlling flow through said duct arranged topermit flow from said engine to said conduit early in the working strokeof said engine, and to cut off such flow before the end of the workingstroke.

8. An internal combustion engine pump comprising a pump conduit, afour-cycle internal combustion engine having valve-controlled inlet andoutlet, and having a separate outlet from the engine cylinder to saidconduit, and valve means controlling said outlet arranged to permit flowfrom said cylinder to said conduit early in the working stroke of saidengine and to cut off such flow before the end of the working stroke.

9. An internal combustion engine pump comprising a pump conduit, afour-cycle internal combustion engine having valve-con trolled inlet andoutlet, and having a separate outlet from the engine cylinder to saidconduit. valve means controlling said outlet arranged to permit flowfrom said cylinder to said conduit early in the working stroke of saidengine and to cut off such flow before the end of the Working stroke,and means for varying the period during which such valve remains open.

10. An internal combustion engine pump comprising a pump conduit, aninternal combustion engine operating upon a regular cycle and providedwith the usual inlet and exhaust valves and fly wheel, and having anoutlet through the cylinder head leading to said conduit. and anoutwardly opening spring-pressed valve controlling said outlet arrangedto permit flow from said engine to said conduit early in the workingstroke of said engine. and to cut off such flow before the end of theworking stroke.

11. An internal combustion engine pump comprising a pump conduit, afour-cycle 1nternal combustion engine having valve-controlled inlet andoutlet, and having a separate outlet from the engine cylinder to saidconduit, and an outwardly opening springpressed valve controlling saidoutlet ar-. ranged to permit flow from said cylinder to said conduitearly in the Working stroke of said engine and to cut off such flowbefore the end of the working stroke.

12. An internal combustion engine pump comprising a pump conduit, afour-cycle internal combustion engine having valve-controlled inlet andoutlet, and having a separate outlet from the engine cylinder to saidconduit, and an outwardly opening springpressed valve controlling saidoutlet arranged to permit flow from said cylinder to said conduit earlyin the working stroke of said engine and to cut off such flow before theend of the working stroke, and means for varying the period during whichsuch valve remains open.

13. The process of converting heat energy into power and of pumpingliquids and fluids with the energy thus converted which comprisesigniting an explosive charge in the cylinder of an internal combustionengine, discharging part of the resulting gases from said cylinder earlyin the working stroke of said engine into a pump conduit to pump theliquid or fluid therein, cutting off such discharge before the end ofthe working stroke and expanding the remaining gases in said cylinder tooperate the engine.

14. The process of converting heat energy into power and of pumpingliquids and fluids with the energy thus converted which comprisesigniting an explosive charge in the cylinder of an internal combustionengine, injecting part of the resulting gases from said cylinder earlyin the working stroke of said engine into a pump conduit through asuitable injector inlet to pump the liquid or fluid therein, cutting offsuch discharge before the end of the working stroke and expanding theremaining gases in said cylinder to operate the engine.

15. The process of converting heat energy into power and of pumpingliquids and fluids with the energy thus converted which comprisesigniting an explosive charge in the cylinder of an internal combustionengine, discharging part of the resulting gases from said cylinder earlyin the working stroke of said engine into a pump conduit below theliquid level therein to elevate and pump the liquid, cutting off suchdischarge before the end of the working stroke and expanding theremaining gases in said cylinder to operate the engine.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

CARL U. THOMAS.

Witnesses MARY M. MAGRAW, MARY L. CARR.

